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Caracol Cream Complaints - Scam and Fraud

Review all Caracol Cream complaints

Caracol Cream
Posted: 2008-07-16 by Chris  [send email]
Scam and Fraud
Complaint Rating: 98 % with 189 votes
Company information:
Caracol Cream
Louisiana
United States
caracol-cream.com

Caracol cream is a fraud and a scam.

If you go to the Caracol Cream website www.caracol-cream.com,

you are greeted by a fictitious character "Pam Estel" who is the website claims is a "Dermatology Expert and Anti-Aging Guru." But upon researching this lady, I discover she does not exist. The only place I can find her is on the Caracol cream website. If she truly were a dermatology expert or anti-aging guru, there would be a plethora of information based on her dermatological knowledge, but there is nothing else out there on her except this website. She is obviously a model of a middle age who was hired for this purpose.

And whenever you visit this website, it will say that they have a special offer that will end at "11:59 pm (today's date)." No matter what day you visit, THAT day is the day the offer will end, or else you will supposedly miss out on the great deal. Also, there is a number of 644 free trials that pops up on one of the screens that rapidly decreases. this is the number of free trials vanishing, so you'd better hurry! This is a ploy to get the consumer to feel pressure to purchase quickly before they lose the "deal, " not giving the consumer enough time to research. But when you hit "refresh" button, the number goes back up to 644 and counts down again.

If you try to close out, a "live chat" agent appears. This is not a live person but a computer giving spiels. When you ask if it is a live person, they actually have it programmed to answer "I am a live virtual agent. :)"
However, they never answer any real questions, i just get the same paragraphs sent to me, asking me to not lose out on the offer, etc. But when i type in "live person" the same response "I am a live virtual agent. :)"appears over and over. They have their site programmed to respond this way to buzz words of "live" and "person."

If you attempt to research information on Caracol cream, they have a clever new "organization" they created to lead unsuspecting customers back to them. The Caracol cream group has created a commercial website for the fictitious "American Anti-Aging Association." This group claims to be a "non profit organization" for the consumer, yet their website suspiciously ends in .com, which is a flat giveaway that this is a commercial website. (the .com stands for "commercial.)



A real organization will end in .org This fake website is clever in that it mimics the true organization of the real American Aging Association. The real group organization website is .www.americanaging.org



The fake website is http://www.americanantiagingassociation.com



The fake website is rather humorous. If you click on the link, it features a building that obviously has typed text superimposed on the building that says "American Anti-Aging Association."



On this website, there are also errors in grammar, syntax and punctuation in addition to use of colloquialisms, which is a hallmark of scammers. Furthermore, if you go to their "history" section, they actually misspelled the word "history" to "histroy." Such blatant errors should be a red flag to any consumer. Legitimate websites hire editors to ensure professional quality of their sites.



They also boast that they have a Dr. Yangoff who has been a "highly respected and decorated dermatologist" on their team for 30 years. However, notice they do not bother to mention a first name of this "doctor." And upon searching for this Dr. Yangoff, you can not find ANY information on him/her. The only information you can pull up about this character is on this website.



If there is a Dr. Yangoff who is that highly respected and decorated for over 30 years, his/her name would appear in many publications and have many references and citations, and not be only on a counterfeit "AmericanAntiAging Association" website.



Additionally, this website says their studies are "highly regarded for years" but they offer no panels who have stated this information.

Bottom Line: The "American Anti-aging Association" is merely a made-up commercial website linked to Caracol cream to mislead the unsuspecting buyer back to the Caracol site, and is not a legitimate organization. Caracol cream is an unethical site, not only for creating a fictitious "organization" to make unsubstantiated claims, but also for creating fictitious characters such as "Dr. Yangoff" and "Pam Estel" who also make uncorroborated assertions. Buyer Beware…
Comments United States Cosmetics
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More Caracol Cream complaints
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Caracol Cream - fraudelent business practices
Caracol Cream - Theft and fraud
Caracol Cream - unauthorized charges/scam

Comments

 Sort by: Date | Rating
 478 days ago by Blanca Vigil  [send email] 0 Votes
I totally agree with the above comments, this organization is out to get consumers to pay for something that is just a faud.
 471 days ago by Dana Murdock  [send email] 0 Votes
There were many red flags for me as well. I agree with everything in this posting. They are trying to pressure you into buying their "limited supply." The website is very unprofessional looking.

What about the photo of the headquarters that is supposedly in Ft. Lauderdale. Fla, there is a mountain in the background!! South Florida does not have mountains and we have palm trees.

THIS IS A SCAM!!
 469 days ago by Kevin  [send email] 0 Votes
BUYERS BEWARE!! This company is a scam. I orderd the 14 day trial.. called 10 mins later and tried to canecell. The 'young' sales rep told me that the company was closed for the day and that some one would call me back tomorrow to confirm my cancellation. What I got was an e-mail stating in the tag line "Caracol Cream- Do Not ship has been shipped", with the explanation that unfortunately the order has been shipped. No one called me back. They state a 14 day trial (if you return the product within 14 day's you will not be charged). I'm pretty sure they charged me the full $59.99 since they would not return my call stating..oops we allready shipped the product!! The company 's website is refered from another website (which also seems bogus) called the American Dermatological Association. There they claim that Caracol Cream was the #1 Winner of all the anti wrinkle products they tested. Yet there are no way's to formally contact this Association ("we are not open to the public" is what they state when you click on Contact Us).
 468 days ago by Dee  [send email] 0 Votes
thank for the warning, I order the free trial but check on comment later and call cancel back right away. Did get the lady name Branda and she said she will cancel it and also said someone will call me. I went to email support and reply to the thank you email and cancel it again. Hope that would work. You can't trust anything now a day. Thank you very much.
 466 days ago by Leo  [send email] 0 Votes
Next thing you know they'll offer a mutlimillon dollar prize to order before the deadline as long as you provide them with your bank account number!

What a bunch of crap.
 466 days ago by Zdenka  [send email] 0 Votes
I do not care if "Pam Estel" exist or not, I do not care if there on website is number 644 or else I am not buying website, I am buying cream and I bought one. And I can see it is working. Everybody is asking me what did I do to my face to look so younger ( after using for 2 1/2 month). Company was sending me monthly supplies and I did not use it up so fast. I called to a company, to cancel order, nice lady there did cancellation for me. No more monthly charges from that day. Later I ordered again just 1 jar so that it was. No complains. daughterter started using cream also, after 2 months she saw different. Cream is fantastic. Maybe website is not that perfect, but you have realizeise what you buying if website or cream
 461 days ago by Danielle  [send email] 0 Votes
I did the same thing by going online and trying to chat with a live person, when I asked if they were a live person they told me they were a virtual person, I asked over and over if I have to give out any information on my banking account and it just kept giving me messages to buy the cream. They never gave me an answer. To Zedenka who wrote above, sometimes its not all about you and your results. Obviously, this is a scam, they are dishonest. I don't want to buy something from a dishonest person. I guess thats whats wrong with America today. No one really cares anymore about whats right or wrong. I sure do!!!
 457 days ago by Gina Deangelis  [send email] 0 Votes
This company is a scam. I orderd the 14 day trial.. called 30 mins later and tried to cancel. The sales rep assured me it would be cancelled. The sample was still shipped so, I called again. I was given a cancellation number which turned out to be an order number. They debted the 59.99 from my bank account after I had cancelled 3 times. I was told by my bank that I would probably need to close my account and reopen a new account to keep this from happening again. This company is definitely a SCAM and I would tell everyone not to order their product unless they have money to donate monthly to a bogus company.
 456 days ago by Marcytara@aol.com  [send email] 0 Votes
The place is a scam... I've used great creams from a really good health store here in Philly. I've tried a few... most work... when you use them every night. Most of them have anti-oxidents... gycolic acid... they all change a few ingredients... some are more money ... check the size. What I was pissed about on the website for "caracol cream" .. I couldn't find out the ounce/size. I've even purchased great cream at a "plastic" surgeon's office for about $40 (2oz.) jar., and only $25 for 2 ounces at the health store for derma "hyalurinic acid" cream. No shipping costs!
 406 days ago by Debby Ryan  [send email] 0 Votes
Im afraid now that I read it's really hard to cancel. And they bill over and over again. Because I live from pay to pay. But I do agree with the one lady that said that the cream was fantastic. I saw a difference the first time I put it on. Everyone is different in how things work, so even though reviews are very helpful, they aren't necessarily accurate when it comes to individual results of a product. For the fact is that everybodies skin is going to act differently to any product. The cream was noticably a great improvement to my skin the very same day I used it. Even though I haven't experienced the billing issue yet, which I hope I don't. The cream seems to be one of the very best I've ever seen... so thumbs up for the product... Just don't like the sounds of the rest of it..
 364 days ago by Rosalind Nicklin  [send email] 0 Votes
Hi I have been reading the complaints board and am surprised so many people don't do the research before they order with a credit card. I just called the company and they told me they were in Ontario CA at least the 1-877-550-0630 # from the website. I also told them I don't have credit cards can I send a check for my 14 day trial. The customer serv girl was very nice took my name and email and told me the company is open on Monday and would email me the information. If you pay by check you can't get set up monthly on the pre billing. I will argue the point of this and will try the 14 days for the $4.95 shipping costs pd by check only. That way they can't bill me and send me any more if I don't like their product. Interesting to see what they do. - Roz
 356 days ago by Linda  [send email] 0 Votes
I returned the Caracol cream after I had cancelled IT within 6 days of receiving it. NOW-- there is a charge for $(59.95 on my charge card. I have (INVESTED) $64.90 in a SCAM!!! I really do feel stupid to have fallen for such as this. I WARN anyone who is considering ordering it to NOT DO IT!!!
 316 days ago by   Patricia 0 Votes
1-9-08. I just recieved the Caracol cream today and realized it was a scam upon receipt of the "free trial" because there was ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION WITH THE PRODUCT. There was a letter that was missing any sort of contact information and the letter informed me that I was going to be charged for additional shipments of the cream and there was no way to contest it. I then found this web-site and many others that reported this scam (thank you all who posted). I immediately called my credit card company and thankfully I was able to cancel my credit card so that I would not be charged for additional shipments of the cream. I also was pretty disgusted to read the label of the product, and realize that pure snail extract was the 2nd ingredient. I did not know this and would not consider putting this on my skin NO MATTER HOW YOUNG IT COULD MAKE ME LOOK! I believe it is one of the lowest scams, and it is going right in the garbage!
 315 days ago by   carmela 0 Votes
this product is a complete fraud, just like hydroderm, i been trying to cancell for the past month, i got billed for two jar in the same month, horrible cusotmer service, the cream is a fraud and so is the company.Save your money and your peace of mind, cause i been battleling for a month to try to get my money back, and i spend just as long with hydroderm.I order both at the same time, and never again ill do the auto ship.BE AFRAID OF THIS COMPANY, DONT BUY THIS USELESS PRODUCT THEY LL JUST TAKE YOUR MONEY AND YOU WILL BE OVERCHARGED AND HAVE A HARD TIME MAKING THEM STOP
 308 days ago by   Nell 0 Votes
I wish I had researched this company before ignorantly "buying" a RISK FREE 14 DAY TRIAL. I think I am internet savvy, but I was taken big time by this group. When I called to cancel near the end of the 14 days, I was told I had to return the jar by automated phone instructions. I could not get to a person.

I was boiling mad and still am. WHAT? This was a trial, I paid the shipping charges. No one asks for a return of the container. To have any communication with this company, you have to use e-mail. You do not get to talk to a person. I wrote a blistering letter about them practicing bait and switch, about the terms of the original agreement being violated, and I was told in response that if you read the terms of agreement, the requirement of returning the jar is explained there. I just printed out 16 pages of their web site to give to my credit card company as proof that no normal human being is going to click on this tiny little box "terms of agreement" that shows up at the end of all these pages of advertising. There's no reason to think you need to read them. I'll never make THAT assumption again.

My credit card company has given me a conditional dispute against this company such that I don't have to pay the $59.95 on this bill, but I've had to collect all this paperwork to back up my claim (can't prove no one will talk to me unless they try calling themselves) that the company does NOT inform you up front that you have to box up and pay return postage on this stupid little jar. You know this means they are reusing the jars, something I'd call a questionable practice.

I "bought" a 14 day trial from another anti-aging cream company the same night and ran into the same issue when I called to cancel. Its product came in a pump mechanism and you had to return IT when you canceled. I went ballistic on them, too, for the same reason. No where that a normal person reading the web page would find it are the instructions about returning the pump. I will give them this credit. They received the pump on January 14 and I was given a refund the same day. They didn't mess around with waiting for the once or twice a month day they process returns.

I got a phone number to get to a person inside of Caracol. Without revealing how, that phone number is 909-770-3517.

We all must learn to take responsibility for our use of the internet. I've got a degree in computer technology, but didn't think I needed to check out this store with the Better Business Bureau, etc. The web page looked "honest". I feel like such a fool. Don't buy w/o researching the web because there is a blog or complaint forum for every product on the internet. Become informed before handing out your precious credit card numbers to strangers. If a company has a history of bad business practices, you'll find the info at a place like this and you can make informed decisions.
 305 days ago by   Nell 0 Votes
The phone number I posted in yesterday's letter is not Caracol. I don't know if I wrote down the number incorrectly or if I was deliberately given a wrong number. When I try the Customer Service number, I get a blurb and then one ring before it disconnects. This is a really bad company to deal with. I've never gotten myself involved in such a mess before.
 265 days ago by   frank lite 0 Votes
total complete SCAM- do NOT buy this product. Not only is it a scam, they will sell your email address to 1000s of other companies so that you start receiving 20+ emails/day about viagra and the likes. Do not ever give this company your email or buy their products. Nothing they claim is true from my research either.
 249 days ago by   Torrid 0 Votes
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!! Not only does the product not work, but they do not provide shipping costs for you to return the product. I argued with a "supervisor" for 15 minutes and she refused to reimburse me for shipping even though I already paid for shipping once to have the product sent to me. Any company that believes whole heartedly in their product and knows it works will at least provide you with a shipping label should you need to return it. Nope, not Caracol. They must know the cream does absolutely nothing and smells awful. Stay far away from this bogus product.
 249 days ago by   Kandice 0 Votes
You are right on! The latest face on this product is a woman named Jenny Anderson, who claims she lives in my city, Hampton, VA. Since I live here and know all sorts of people, I was able to conclude very quickly "No such person exists." This ranks up there with another scam "Celebrity Sexy Teeth". The dumb product is just peroxide foam of which the dentist says is totally ineffective. I ordered this from a link on the FOXNEW.com site, which is also where you can read Jenny's ficticious line. I have e-mailed FOX and asked this very reputable news org. to discontinue these pick-poctket ads.
 249 days ago by   Kandice 0 Votes
I forgot to mention...I think this scam is run by the same co as "Celebrity Sexy Teeth" I had to actually cancel all my ATM/Debit cards to prevent them from "auto-ship billing" If you having problems, just report your cards stolen. You #'s are cancelled and issued a new one. I may be a bit of an inconvience but it worth doing to prevent you account from being drained.

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